


A Perfect Plan

by bettycooperthefirst



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-07-20 18:25:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16142945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettycooperthefirst/pseuds/bettycooperthefirst
Summary: **ABANDONED WORK** Betty Cooper has been working at Sweetwater Magazine for a year, longing for the day when she'll move from assistant to journalist. She spends everyday waiting on Cheryl Blossom hand and foot, but the worst part of her job is the guy who sits across from her. Jughead Jones challenges Betty every minute of everyday, loving nothing more than getting under her skin. But what will happen when they take on the biggest challenge of all: getting their bosses to fall for each other?





	1. Plan A

Betty Cooper was known for always having the most organized desk at Sweetwater Magazine. Her pens were color coded, her filing system impeccably alphabetized. Her stapler was always full, her computer free of all dust and her sticky notes placed in the perfect spot to grab one at a moments notice. She was so meticulously organized that she knew people in the office made fun of her for it sometimes. But she also knew that they had been prompted to do so by the idiotic manchild who sat in the desk across from hers. Even though his desk was a mess, pens scattered about, to do pile overflowing, always some kind of food that she could smell even after he’d eaten it, he’d convinced the office that she was the weird one.

Betty had been working across from Jughead Jones for a year now. She still found it completely absurd that he insisted on being called ‘Jughead’ and she still refused to do it. He hated that she still called him Forsythe. She could see it in his eyes every time she said it. She imagined it was almost as irritating for him as it was when he called her Elizabeth.

The phone on Betty’s desk rang and she recognized the number immediately. When she picked it up, a familiar voice barked “Betty! I need you in my office now.” 

Betty loved her job at Sweetwater. Their magazine was number one in news stands across the city, in the top 5 across the country. And she took her job as assistant to the head of the journalism department very seriously. Glancing at Jughead as she stood up, she saw the familiar glint in his eye that he often got when he was thinking about how much better he was than she was. He assumed that as the assistant to the head of photography, he was more creative than her, that his job was more interesting than hers, that he was all around more relevant than her. She could see all of this reflected in the space between his blue eyes and his stupid glasses that made him look like some kind of fancy professor. It made her want to punch those glasses right off his face.

“Better hurry, Elizabeth. Ms. Blossom hates to wait.” he commented without even looking up from the greasy fries he had positioned right on top of his keyboard. Betty wanted to wipe down his desk but she thought she’d probably need to buy a hazmat suit first.

“Don’t worry about me Forsythe. Best of luck finding your paperwork by deadline in 10 minutes.” She gestured to his messy stack of papers and walked past him to the office of Cheryl Blossom. 

Cheryl had become the Journalism Head at Sweetwater Magazine a year before Betty had started there. Cheryl was only a few years older than her, but light years ahead career wise. What Betty had accomplished at 24 seemed like what Cheryl must have checked off her list when she was 10.  

“Betty.” Cheryl greeted her without looking up from her desk. “Is the paperwork done for the morning meeting?”

“Yes. All filed and ready to go.” 

“Great. I need you to be the first in the conference room, as usual.” Cheryl finally looked up and held out an empty mug to Betty. “Refill my coffee and be there in 5 minutes.”

“Yes, Ms. Blossom.”

Betty took the mug without question and made a sharp turn to the left out of Cheryl’s office. Everyone in the greater Boston area knew Cheryl Blossom as just that, Cheryl Blossom. She was a massive deal around here, and honestly everywhere. At 27, she was scheduled to be in this years Forbes 30 under 30. Cheryl Blossom, the beautiful red head who ran Sweetwater Magazine like a well oiled machine. But to Betty, she was Ms. Blossom, her boss, who demanded 4 coffees every day at 8:00, 8:30 9:00, and 11:00 sharp. Since it was 8 minutes until their 9:00 meeting, this would be her third cup of the day. It was an easy job refilling her coffee in the break room. Her order was simple. Cheryl Blossom drank her coffee black. _Like her soul,_ Betty joked in her head as she poured the coffee into the mug.

Before heading to the conference room, Betty smoothed down her robins egg blue skirt and blue and white polka dot top. It was important that she always look her best. She was representing herself at all times. This was something Cheryl had told her right before she pointed out that Betty was also representing the editorial department. The latter was likely more important to her.

Betty checked her watch. 8:54. She quickly walked down the hall to the conference room. As she passed her desk, she grabbed the files easily. She detected motion from the corner of her eye. Jughead. He stood up and somehow grabbed his own files. Betty was surprised that he found them. But she didn’t have time to think about that. This was the part of the day that set the tone for the rest of it. Jughead gave her a smirk that made her want to slap him. A normal response to his face. 

At 8:55, the janitor would unlock the conference room. He did this every single day, and every single day, Betty and Jughead fought to be the first one inside. Yesterday, Jughead had managed to beat her. Not today. Betty thought. Today, she needed this. It was Thursday morning, and she was losing her mind knowing how close, yet far away, the weekend was. It was in her sight but not in her grasp. She needed a win to set the day off right.

She started down the hall and he quickly came up beside her.

“How is your morning going Elizabeth?” He matched his pace to hers exactly.

“Phenomenal. And yours?” 

“Just fantastic.”

The janitor was putting the key into the glass door ahead of them. Betty sped up her walk as he turned it in the lock. 

“But I just heard the most horrible thing.” He said this in a cheery tone, not matching the statement. “Apparently the coffee in the break room was somehow switched to decaf in the second brew.”

Betty slowed her steps involuntarily. 

“Excuse me?”

“Luckily, I got Toni her third cup before it happened. Thank god, am I right?”

Cheryl Blossom was superhuman. She would know if her coffee was decaf. She would not take it lightly. But she also wouldn’t take it lightly if Betty wasn’t the first person in the door that was now only a few feet in front of her. 

Betty faltered, but only for a moment. She reached for the door handle at the same time as Jughead. He moved his arm just slightly into hers, but a little too hard to be an accident. In her moment of confusion it was enough for what he was trying to achieve. Cheryl’s coffee jumped out of the mug and a splatter appeared on Betty’s white polka dot top. She gasped. Jughead looked at her with that smirk again, the smug bastard, as he opened the door to the conference room and walked inside.

Betty rushed in behind him and looked at the coffee cup. It was still 3/4 full. The other fourth was now on her shirt. Betty glanced at the hallway to see Cheryl coming around the corner.

“Sorry.” Jughead said. He didn’t even try to act sincere.

Betty grinded her teeth together. She was going to murder him.

“Coffee?” Cheryl said, entering the room behind 3 other attendees of the meeting.

Betty didn’t know what to do other than hand her the mug.

“Looks like you had an accident.” Cheryl observed, eyeing Betty’s top before walking to the head of the table. 

Betty shot daggers at Jughead as he cheerily pulled out a chair.

Cheryl took a sip from the mug and her face scrunched up. Betty knew it was coming, and she was hating every second of it.

“Betty?" the redhead looked at her with a mix of confusion and annoyance on her face. "Is this decaf?”

 

* * * * *

 

Mental warfare. That was what they engaged in at the Sweetwater office. At least, that was what Betty and Jughead had engaged in for the past year that Betty had worked at the magazine.

Jughead had started three months before Betty and he never let her forget it. On her first day at work, she’d been nervous but excited. Sweetwater was a big deal and an assistant position of this caliber could get her a journalist job down the road. What Betty really wanted to do was write, but she’d spent her first 6 months out of college struggling to find a job and therefore struggling to pay rent. When a position opened up at Sweetwater, she knew that no matter what it was, she had to have it. Even if it didn’t mean writing now, it could start her writing career down the line.

So she walked into Sweetwater Magazine with her head held high and sat down at her desk. The desk across from Jughead Jones. He looked up at her and she shot a smile his way. He looked at her outfit, a floral top and peach skirt. He looked at the items she’d brought into the office- her personal laptop, a bound cream leather notebook, and a small plant. Betty liked to be surrounded by nature. It calmed her in a way that she couldn’t explain. But Jughead eyed her pink peonies and her pink outfit and the pink lipstick she’d chosen and he didn’t smile back at her. His mouth formed a tiny smirk and her own smile faltered. 

Still, she stuck out her hand. “Betty Cooper. I’m Ms. Blossom’s new assistant.”

“Yes. I can see that from the desk you’re standing in front of. I’m Jughead.”

“Jughead?”

“That’s what they call me.” He gave her a cocky grin. She took note of this, already building a file in her mind on what kind of guy she was going to be sitting across from everyday. _Overly confident, probably with douchebag tendencies._ When you'd been fucked over as many times as Betty had, you had to figure people out quickly, tucking every red flag away into your long term memory.

She sat down at her desk and turned on the computer. As she pulled up her work emails, she opened a second tab. The one for the Sweetwater website, where every employee’s name and job was listed.

“So assistant to the writing department huh?”

“Editorial.” She answered, scanning the page for what she was looking for. Got it. Of course his given name wasn’t Jughead. 

“Right. Last girl who sat in that chair only lasted a week.” _Definitely douchebag tendencies._

“Excuse me?” Betty looked up from the screen to see him staring at her with a new meaning in his eyes. 

“Cheryl Blossom is not easy to deal with. Very demanding. It takes a special kind of person to work with her.” She identified the look in his eyes. Even then, she already knew it was the look he got when he was issuing a challenge.

“Well I’m in luck then, Forsythe. Because I’m a special kind of person.” He covered it well, but she saw him cringe for a moment when she said his given name.

“I’m sure you are Elizabeth.” He turned his full attention back to his desk and she hid a smile. Her first victory.

 

* * * * *

 

It wasn’t until lunch time that day that Betty happily discovered that not everyone who worked at Sweetwater was like Jughead. Sitting at a table outside eating her yogurt, she’d felt someone come up to stand next to her.

“Vanilla yogurt, huh?”

Betty turned to see a dark haired girl standing above her. She was nicely dressed, but her business casual was the opposite of Betty’s. Where Betty had a peach skirt, this girl had a black one. Where Betty’s lipstick was pink, this girl had smoothly applied a red that looked stunning on her. She had the air of every person who had ever ignored Betty in high school. Sure of herself, Betty could tell from just those three words. What Betty didn’t understand was why this girl was talking to her of all people.

“I usually go for more flavorful options myself. Banana cream pie today. But I respect it.” The girl extended her hand. 

“Veronica Lodge.”

Betty took her hand. “Betty Cooper.”

“Nice to meet you Betty. Mind if I sit?”

Betty nodded. She was shocked that a girl with this confidence rolling off of her wasn’t surrounded by people. As Betty thought this, a guy who looked to be around her age as well slid into the chair next to Veronica’s. 

Suddenly Betty’s four chair table had gone from one occupancy to three.

“Hey there. I’m Kevin.”

“Betty.” She repeated. She needed to find something else to say soon or she’d solidify her place as an idiot in these people’s minds.

“You’re Cheryl’s new assistant right?” Kevin asked.

“Yes.” Betty wanted to kick herself. She had to say more than one word this time. “I’ve heard it’s not the most long lasting position.”

“Who told you that?” Veronica asked, opening her yogurt.

“I think he goes by Jughead.”

Veronica let out a groan. “Fuck Jughead.” Her language only shocked Betty for a moment. “Lately, it hasn’t been great, 5 different people in the last 6 months.”

“One girl only lasted a week.” Kevin said honestly, and Veronica elbowed him.

“Don’t scare her. Before any of that, we had the same person for a year. She only left because she got a better job offer.”

“Better than working for the biggest name in publishing right now?”

“Guess so. I didn’t really know her that well. But I do know Jughead. Don’t let him freak you out. He’s an idiot and you’d figure that out on your own even if you didn’t have us to tell you.”

A year later, and Betty sat down at the same table, where Kevin and Veronica were already seated. 

“There’s the stain I’ve heard so much about.” Kevin said immediately, looking at Betty’s blouse.

“Really? How? I haven’t even seen you.”

Kevin shrugged, a sheepish look on his face. “Jughead sent out an office wide email blast.”

“Of course he did.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The guy’s an idiot.”

It was only noon. Betty knew she would be at the office for at least 7 more hours. Kevin and Veronica would be gone by 5, like every sane person in the building. Veronica worked in the fashion department, organizing looks for photo shoots and fashion spreads. She was second in command there, past an assistant position and on track to take over the department if the guy who ran it now died in a tragic accident. Or quit. Which ever came first, Veronica always said. She was business savvy and Betty always thought she would be an asset in many other areas of the company. Marketing. Finance. She knew it all.

Kevin was on the social media team. His primary job was running the instagram account for the company. It didn’t shock Betty in the least that he had been given this position. He excelled in it. What shocked her was that these two incredibly successful people were still sitting at this table with her, an assistant. 

But somehow, their friendship worked. It had gone past work, and into their everyday lives. They knew every detail of the Betty-Jughead war. And they knew just as well as her that she’d be at work hours after everyone left tonight, finishing things up while Cheryl sat in her office, ordering dinner for them at some point, sitting around until much later than she wanted, because Cheryl was always the last person to leave. 

Scratch that.

Cheryl was always one of the last 2 people to leave. The other was Toni Topaz, head of the photography department. She stayed late just about every night as well. The two of them were ridiculously committed to their work and Betty had to respect that. The part that really made the situation sour was the 4th person who stayed in the building- the assistant of Toni, none other than Jughead Jones.

It was a cruel world that insisted that Betty spend more time with that man than any other person in her life.

As the day winded down, Betty ignored the man- no- the boy across from her. As the other employees of Sweetwater been to trickle out the door, she heard Jughead humming under his breath. Veronica passed her desk and gave her a wave on the way out. Kevin playfully pulled her ponytail before walking into the elevator with the rest of the remaining staff members. It was just Betty, Jughead and their respective bosses now. And that stupid humming.

“Could you stop?” This was the third day in a row that she had needed to ask him this. He knew exactly what he was doing. As usual, his primary objective was to get under her skin. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I bothering you?”

“Yes. You are.”

He smirked at her and glanced at the clock.

“5:14. I wonder who’s staying the latest tonight.”

This had become a twisted competition between the two of them. Who’s boss would keep them there later? The fact of the matter was that no one won. They argued over who’s boss was harsher but the real winner was the one walking out the door 10 minutes before the other.

At 6:30, Betty got an email from Cheryl. She wanted pasta delivered from the place down the street. Betty considered getting up and walking there, but she couldn’t be sure that Cheryl wouldn’t want her for something else. She had already fixed Cheryl’s schedule for the following week (yoga and a business lunch were double booked but hot yoga was only happening twice in the week), gone through the template for the next issue before sending it out, and was now working to arrange a meeting with Cheryl and a hot shot artist from New York. These were all things that she could have done the following day, but Cheryl wanted her here with her. Some nights, they’d be gone by now. But lately, Cheryl had been staying later and later. 

Betty looked at Jughead, clicking through a camera roll. Toni had been staying late too. Any second now, Jughead would get a similar email to the one she’d just gotten.

He looked up to see her watching him and she looked away quickly.

“Caught in the act.” He said. “Starting at the handsome guy across the way.”

“You’re ridiculous.” 

His phone chimed. He looked at it and sighed. 

“Where did you order from tonight?”

“Haven’t yet.” She knew what was coming. 

“Where are you going to order from then?”

“Rivaldi’s. What’s it to you?” She looked him in the eye with a smile. He let out a sigh.

“Toni wants pasta. Maybe we share an order so we don’t get stuck paying a huge tip?”

“Fine.” Betty said. If she could avoid paying as much to the delivery person, it was worth it. Her bills weren’t paying themselves, and Cheryl often forgot to include tip in her orders. A casualty of never working in the service industry, Betty thought.

As Jughead put in the order, she glanced down the hallway, but couldn’t see either Cheryl or Toni’s offices from her vantage point. 

“What is she even doing in there? It’s not like she’s writing.”

“Something the two of you have in common.”

The comeback was smooth and easy. He barely had to think anymore in order to insult her.

“Same as you’re not the one taking the photos?”

“Ouch.” He said it sarcastically, but she knew the truth. Jughead wanted to be behind the camera the same way she wanted to be writing instead of proofreading and filing. He’d accidentally admitted it to her once, a long time ago.

“You’ll never be behind the lens if Toni keeps staying here like this. She must not have a life outside of this office.”

Jughead let out a short laugh, not looking up from his computer.

“Cheryl’s no better.”

“Oh, I can confirm that Cheryl Blossom has no life outside this office. I run her calendar, and it’s all work meetings, yoga classes, hair appointments. No social life whatsoever.”

He finally looked up at her, that challenge in his eyes yet again.

“If you think Cheryl has no social life, you should see Toni’s schedule.”

“I’m willing to bet that my boss’ social life is more boring than yours.”

He leaned forward in his chair. Game on.

“Toni has one friend that I know of.”

“Cheryl has none.”

“But there was that whole piece in Cosmo on Cheryl last month, talking about her dating life. She just made that up?”

Betty raised her eyebrows in response. “She’s a business woman. Cosmo got her higher publicity, so she gave them the story they wanted.”

He leaned forward even more.

“When’s the last time Cheryl Blossom has actually been on a date?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Oh come on, you can tell me. It’s not a big deal.” He put his schmoozing voice on, leaning back in his chair like it meant nothing. Betty knew better. She had his playbook memorized at this point.

“Oh really? When’s the last time Toni Topaz has been on a date?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it without saying a word. He knew the answer. He controlled Toni’s schedule the same way she controlled Cheryl’s. Ordered her food, her clothes, probably the furniture in her house, just like Betty had. She still missed the gorgeous white red she’d shipped over for Cheryl’s living room. She would have ordered it in blue, but red was Cheryl’s favorite color.

_Red was Cheryl’s favorite color._

She looked at the boy across from her. “What's Toni’s favorite color?”

“Purple.” He answered absentmindedly, sifting through papers on his desk.

“Go to breakfast burrito?”

“Potato bacon.” He looked up. “What are we doing right now?”

“If Toni Topaz had to choose between spending a night at the theatre or going to a basketball game, which would she choose?”

Jughead’s eyes narrowed.

“What’s happening?”

“Just answer me.”

“The theatre, obviously. She hates basketball. Football, maybe, but basketball-“

Betty interrupted before he could rattle off Toni’s sports preferences.

“You know everything about her.”

She saw his face redden a bit.

“So what? You know everything about Cheryl.”

Betty nodded.

“Exactly. So I know that Cheryl likes the theatre too. And she hasn’t been on a date since right after I started here. 11 months ago. With a girl named Heather who only lasted two dates and then flaked out. If Toni’s social life is so boring, I’m willing to bet that she’s not dating either.”

“She’s not.” She saw a light in his eyes as he understood what she was saying. “But she could.”

“If she met the right person. Someone who’s values aligned with hers.”

Jughead shook his head slowly.

“Someone who had work ethic.”

Betty smiled coyly, leaning back in her chair the way he had a minute earlier.

“Maybe someone who made the 30 under 30 list.”

Jughead smiled back. 

“We know everything about them.”

“Their whole schedule. Down to what time they like to arrive in each room in this building.”

“If we rig it so that they start seeing each other, then they’ll spend less time at work, which means we’ll spend less time at work.”

“That’s the idea.”

His smile faded into his trademark cocky smirk.

“I’m a genius.”

Betty raised her eyebrows.

“This was my idea.”

“Then how come I’m the one who said it?”

Betty started to shake her head.

“I swear to-“

Jughead’s phone dinged and he shot her a smirk. “Pasta is here.”

She held his eyes for a moment, struggling to hide her annoyance.

“Then hurry up and get it. We have work to do.”


	2. The Phoenix and The Viper

Betty never thought that she’d be having lunch with Jughead Jones. Especially for a planning session on how to trick their bosses into dating. They left the office at 8 that night, and Cheryl was in a terrible mood on her way out. Betty knew she needed to act fast. So here they were, sitting at her normal lunch table, Betty realizing that she had no idea where Jughead usually ate.

“Does Cheryl have any free time this weekend?” Jughead was asking between bites of a giant sub sandwich. It was easily four times the size of Betty’s yogurt.

“Saturday night. She usually uses that time to decompress from the week though, so it’ll be hard to get her to go out.”

“I think I know how we can do it.” Jughead gave her a quick nod. “Cheryl likes theatre right?”

“Yes.” Betty said reluctantly. Just because they were working on this together didn’t mean she suddenly trusted the guy completely.

“I know the guy at the Broadway Theatre Center. The tour of Grease is going through right now. I know how to get Toni free tickets. I normally get her one, but I can say that they offered two. She won’t have anyone else to invite.”

“How do we get her to invite Cheryl?” Betty had seen Toni talk to her boss outside of the conference room exactly one time. They’d bumped into each other in the hallway and Toni said “Excuse me.” Cheryl replied “That’s okay.” 

But Jughead didn’t seem deterred by the fact that their bosses barely knew each other.

“You say that Toni is looking for someone and had me ask you if Cheryl would be interested.”

“That’s straight up lying.”

Jughead raised his eyebrows in response.

“How did you think this was going to work Elizabeth?”

Betty narrowly stopped herself from cringing at the use of her full name.

“I know. I just thought we could make some of this happen without it.”

Jughead let out a dramatic sigh that made Betty’s desire to punch him in the face sky rocket.

“So naive.”

“I am not naive.”

“You project naivety every day of your life.” He gestured to her pink collared dress with a smirk.

She let his comment serve as a challenge instead of an insult. “Are you afraid of the color pink?”

He scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s just a color, Forsythe. All it means is that I like pink and I look good in it.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” He said it more quietly than normal, so she counted that as a win. 

“Stay on task.” She pointed at him with her yogurt spoon. “So we tell Cheryl that Toni invited her. We get them to go together. How do we ensure that they have a good time? Obviously the two of them aren’t the best at dating. They’re bound to mess things up for themselves.”

“We need to find a way to be at the theatre ourselves. It’s too late to buy tickets at a decent price though.” He said this like it was the bottom line. Like his knowledge was the only thing that counted towards a solution. But he was wrong. 

“You’re not the only one who can call in a favor for their boss to the BTC.”

He raised his eyebrow and swallowed a ridiculously large bite of his sandwich.  _How is he still eating?_

“I see. Maybe you’re a master of lying after all.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate me.”

Betty heard a throat clear behind her and turned to see Veronica and Kevin staring at them. 

“What’s happening here?” Veronica said, eyebrows raised at Betty.

“Work stuff.”

Jughead looked from Betty to Veronica and back again before popping the last of his sandwich in his mouth and standing up.

“I was just leaving.”

Veronica widened her eyes and crossed her arms. “Damn right you were.”

After he walked away, Veronica slid into her chair and pinned Betty with her eyes. “What was that?”

“Don’t worry Ronnie. We aren’t friends now or anything. We’re just working on a project together.”

“Good.” Veronica started to open her lunch with a nod. “That guy has caused you nothing but trouble since you started here. He doesn’t deserve to be forgiven.”

“He’s not forgiven. He’s just working in my favor right now. I’m keeping an eye out for any bullshit.”

Veronica picked up her fork and pointed it at Betty with a smile.

“That’s my girl.”

Betty smoothed her skirt before entering Cheryl’s office. It wasn’t that she’d never lied before, never tricked anyone. But she’d never lied to Cheryl Blossom, her boss and one of the most well known women in the country. The most formidable woman she’d ever met. 

She summoned all the confidence she possibly could and knocked on the glass door.

Cheryl looked up and gestured her in, before turning her focus back to the computer in front of her.

“Betty. What is it?”

Betty took in a deep breath and spoke.

“I have some good news.”

“You snagged the interview with Kate Hudson?” The redhead still didn’t look in Betty’s direction. 

“Yes, but there’s more.”

“What is it?” Cheryl repeated.

_Here goes nothing._ “Toni Topaz contacted me through her assistant. She has two tickets to Grease tonight. She knows you like the theatre and wanted to see if you would like to go with her.”

Cheryl finally looked up from her computer.

“You can’t be implying that this is a date.”

“Of course not. She just thought of you when she realized she had two tickets. Otherwise, the second ticket will just go to waste.”

Suspicion flashed across Cheryl’s face. Betty stood perfectly still, forcing her facial expression not to change, not to give anything away. Toni and Cheryl rarely talked. This situation that she and Jughead had created was not impossible, but it was a slight stretch. Please just say yes.

“Tonight?”

Betty gave one quick nod. “Tonight.”

“You expect me to just be ready to socialize like that at the last minute?” Cheryl moved her long hair from one shoulder to the other, a habit that Betty had learned was a sign of slight discomfort. She’d only seen it a few times, and most people probably didn’t pick up on it, but Betty was around Cheryl Blossom significantly more than most people. She knew this meant she had to tread carefully. Or- even more carefully than usual.

“You don’t have to socialize if you don’t want to. You can just take the ticket and sit with her, watch the show and then go home.”

Cheryl held Betty’s eyes for a few seconds before speaking. “Fine. Let her know I’ll meet her there half an hour before curtain.”

“On it.” Betty turned to walk out.

“Oh and Betty?”

She immediately turned back to Cheryl. “Yes?”

“Good work getting the Kate Hudson interview. Let Valerie know she’s taking the piece.”

Another day, another pass off to a different writer. Not that Betty was technically a writer with Sweetwater. But it did get tiring scheduling amazing opportunities for other people and watching as they got to publish articles and meet celebrities. Cheryl knew that Betty wanted to write, but she had never offered her an opportunity. Betty chalked this up to Cheryl having too many things on her plate to take a risk on her assistant, but it still hurt a little every time she watched someone else get a piece that she would have loved to work on.

But this time, the hurt was overpowered by the victory of getting her boss to leave the office earlier than normal and go somewhere with another human being. A human being that Betty was desperately hoping she would hit it off with. Fingers crossed.

As Betty walked up the steps to the Broadway Theatre Center, she felt a slight shiver run through her body. The 50 degree weather of October had begun to shift into the 40 degree weather of November without any warning, and she’d only worn a light jacket over her dress. Her ensemble for the night was a purple dress with shimmery undertones and a black moto jacket. It was the only black article of clothing in Betty’s closet, but with the shimmer in the dress, Betty was sure Jughead would still have a snarky comment. “I see you added glitter to your princess aesthetic tonight?” She imagined him saying. It was a darker look than normal for her, but she was sure he’d figure out a way to mock her for it. He always did.

Betty heard a throat clear behind her and turned to see none other than Jughead Jones. But if she had thought that her look for the night was different, his was on another planet altogether. His normal work get up of a casual button down and t shirt with dark jeans had been traded in for a crisp white button down with suspenders and nice black pants. He looked put together, his matching black jacket hung casually over his elbow. 

“Aren’t you cold?” Betty blurted out.

“I’m warm blooded.” He shrugged. She watched as he took in her outfit, waiting for a comment, but all he said was “You look nice. Ready?”

Betty shook off the odd feeling of disappointment in her chest and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

They checked in at will call to receive their tickets. They’d arrived right as doors were opening, so that they could get in their seats and be ready when Cheryl and Toni walked in. They were up in the balcony, a perfect view from above, while their bosses seats were closer to the stage.

As they took their seats, Jughead spoke. “We need codenames for them.”

“I’m sorry, are we in kindergarten?” Betty smoothed down her skirt and trained her eyes on the seat her boss would be sitting in.

“I’m sorry,” Jughead shot back, “do you just hate anything remotely fun?

Betty ignored this comment in favor of not sitting angrily next to someone for the next 2 hours. “How do we pick codenames?”

“Whatever feels right. Im going to call Toni The Viper. Dangerous, but nice to look at.”

Betty looked over at Jughead and placed her hand over her heart. “Aw, does somebody have a crush on his boss?”

He shook his head no easily. “She’s not my type. I’m just not blind.”

Betty thought about her boss for a moment before deciding. “Cheryl can be The Phoenix.” 

A couple of minutes passed where the two of them sat in silence. Betty had come to find that she was comfortable doing this with Jughead. They’d spent many a morning standing silently outside the conference room, many a late evening sitting across from each other in an otherwise empty office. They were good at silence. It was when the talking started that things seemed to immediately go south.

“You’re probably not a big Grease person.” Betty commented absentmindedly.

“Why do you say that?” He felt his eyes on her and turned to look him in the eye.

“Romance doesn’t seem like your entertainment of choice.”

He shrugged. “Not when it’s not realistic.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jughead pointed at the stage, where bleachers and lunch tables were set up to create the idea of a school. “Two people from two different worlds, trying to make things work- that’s all fine and good. But once they started changing for each other, they don’t stand a chance in the real world. It’s incredibly unhealthy.”

Betty raised her eyebrows.

“I agree.” This was the first time she’d ever said those words in relation to Jughead Jones.

“Really?” He seemed just as surprised as she was.

“If Danny was really the one for her, he would like her, girly dresses, blonde ponytail and all. Without even thinking twice.”

It was Jughead’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“It’s just the truth. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a classic love story. But at the end of the day, the whole thing is really unhealthy.”

“Betty Cooper, a secret cynic.” He smiled, and there was something different about it from the normal smiles he gave her. It wasn’t a smirk, it wasn’t an attempt at some kind of smolder. There was no irritation that she could find in it, and that unsettled her.

She averted her eyes and looked down to where Cheryl had just entered and taken her seat. She was wearing a gorgeous red dress, looking perfect as always. Betty glanced over to the door and saw Toni entering.

“The real show’s about to start.” She nudged Jughead’s shoulder with her hand, immediately feeling uncomfortable about the choice. But he didn’t seem to care, focusing his attention on Toni as she made her way to her seat.

“Here goes nothing.” He said quietly.

Betty trained her eye on her boss and Toni closed the distance between them. 

“By the way,” she heard him say quietly next to her. “I don’t hate romance. Pretty much everything is a love story these days.” 

Betty glanced in his direction as the lights in the theatre started to go down. “Jughead Jones, secret romantic?”

Jughead shrugged, his usual smile being replaced by the usual smirk. “You just called me Jughead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taking me so long to update! The past few months have been crazy for me- many good things, but also a lot of stress so come with it. It's been hard to write and/or be happy with what I've written. But writing can be a good stress reliever, even if it's a different kind of stress relief from sitting in bed watching Brooklyn 99... Hope you enjoyed! xx


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